What "man jobs" have you done today?

Pressure washed the rear garden (patio), side passageway and front drive. The drive was almost impossible, so much moss in the cracks. Made more mess than actually cleaning.

Need to get some silver sand now.
 
Just discovered that the ants are raiding the food cupboard for anything sweet. At the same time, I've also discovered that I don't have any ant powder. :mad:
 
{SAS}TB said:
Gate in and hardware installed onto the gate

IMG-20220319-141224.jpg
Click to expand...

I've never built a gate but I thought the diagonal brace was supposed to go from bottom left to top right to stop the gate sagging over time. Admittedly, it's probably not a problem with a smaller gate like that
 
{SAS}TB said:
Few bits this weekend

The chicken run "fence" (lightweight mesh and plastic poles) was always a temporary fix. It's been there over 12 months now so decided it was time to replace it something a bit more permanent

Before

IMG-20220319-083707.jpg


I knocked up a gate from some timber and fencing mesh in the garage

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Sunk two decent size posts into the ground and held them in place before backfilling with postcrete

IMG-20220319-112917.jpg


Gate in and hardware installed onto the gate

IMG-20220319-141224.jpg


New posts into place before removing the old fencing

IMG-20220319-091002.jpg


I dug a channel round and sat the new heavier duty mesh into the ground about 100-150mm for both keeping predators out and the chickens in
IMG-20220319-160008.jpg


I then put some smaller guage mesh over the top

Today I dug out a flat / level section between the new gate and the coop. Dropped in some bricks as a foundation then out some plastic tiles in to form a.walkway.

IMG-20220320-121828.jpg


Back filled with soil and once it's settled I'll top off with gravel for a decent path in the bad weather

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Then chopped a few logs and kindling as still haven't quite finished with the log burner for the season just yet

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Nice run, but does the keeping birds inside rule not apply to you?

"The UK is tackling its largest ever outbreak of bird flu with over 100 cases confirmed across the country since the start of November. To help mitigate the spread of disease, the Government introduced new housing measures on November 29 2021 which means that if you keep chickens, ducks, geese or any other birds you are now legally required to keep them indoors and to follow strict biosecurity measures. If you do not do this, the disease could kill your birds and you could be fined."

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain
 
Uhtred said:
I've never built a gate but I thought the diagonal brace was supposed to go from bottom left to top right to stop the gate sagging over time. Admittedly, it's probably not a problem with a smaller gate like that
Click to expand...

Yeah and that was the original intention but with the slope of the ground and me fixing the mesh in the inner face I just went with it. It's not heavy and with it being "portrait" rather than "landscape" it's not as critical if I get any drop I can alway flip the gate round.

Gav_r26 said:
Nice run, but does the keeping birds inside rule not apply to you?

"The UK is tackling its largest ever outbreak of bird flu with over 100 cases confirmed across the country since the start of November. To help mitigate the spread of disease, the Government introduced new housing measures on November 29 2021 which means that if you keep chickens, ducks, geese or any other birds you are now legally required to keep them indoors and to follow strict biosecurity measures. If you do not do this, the disease could kill your birds and you could be fined."

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain
Click to expand...

Yes, it does and I am well aware and have advised DEFRA of the birds.

They get let out temporarilly when being cleaned and after all that digging they had a short time.oit to pick through the freshly dug ground for worms and such like.
 
darael said:
Just discovered that the ants are raiding the food cupboard for anything sweet. At the same time, I've also discovered that I don't have any ant powder. :mad:
Click to expand...
if they are coming in from outside you can probably just put a line of bleech or whatever at the entrance they use, or basically anything to kill the scent trail.

the ones already in your house will just die somewhere, they can't start a new colony without a queen/flying ant
 
arknor said:
if they are coming in from outside you can probably just put a line of bleech or whatever at the entrance they use, or basically anything to kill the scent trail.

the ones already in your house will just die somewhere, they can't start a new colony without a queen/flying ant
Click to expand...
I've got some ant powder now and I'm playing games with these ants. Bit of syrup on something plastic, which has been surrounded with ant powder. The last time I did this, they never came back for ages. :D
 
Got my AVA P60 yesterday so finally got round to spraying down the patio front and back. Oh my days, I didn't realise how bad it was until I did it. It only really looked like there were a few bad slabs but now I've finished and it's started to dry, it looks like new again. My Nilfisk definitely wouldn't have got a result like that

Need to do the decking next although I think that's going to need more than a pressure washer
 
We got a shed put up earlier in the week, an 8x6 pent from Tigersheds so got a start on insulating it with the foil covered bubble wrap. After that is to get electrics out to it, clad the insideal and a light put up. It will be a space for my ultrasonic cleaner, some rust removing/ electrolysis.
 
Wife has been weeding over last few days so today it's my turn - Just put rear seats up and rubber sheet on boot as there is a good car full of rubbish so off to tip shortly.
I have never see any other women collect junk and rubbish like mine.
It used to be trailer fulls but I can no longer reverse it due to stiff neck and one eye not working properly.
 
"defaced" the Mrs' car from

IMG-20220326-093116.jpg


To (which she wasn't happy about)

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To (which she really really wasn't happy about)

IMG-20220326-101206.jpg


The introduced some logs

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To some tools

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To make some splits and kindling

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Then stocked up in the lounge and prepped the log burner

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Also swapped out all the recessed led bulbs in the ensuite 2 of the 4 had gone so replaced all for new
 
{SAS}TB said:
"defaced" the Mrs' car from

IMG-20220326-093116.jpg


To (which she wasn't happy about)

IMG-20220326-094716.jpg


To (which she really really wasn't happy about)

IMG-20220326-101206.jpg


The introduced some logs

IMG-20220326-082731.jpg


To some tools

IMG-20220326-082537.jpg


To make some splits and kindling

IMG-20220326-084513.jpg


Then stocked up in the lounge and prepped the log burner

IMG-20220326-085250.jpg


Also swapped out all the recessed led bulbs in the ensuite 2 of the 4 had gone so replaced all for new
Click to expand...

Great bit of kit the fiskars splitting maul.
My brothers just dropped off my first log delivery, another three to come. One of his customers had three full trees come down in the recent storms so I've grabbed the lot. Log burner is going in some time this summer, I've missed having one since we moved house and with the recent energy price rises and access to a good free supply I thought it was about time I fitted one in our new place.
 
darael said:
Just discovered that the ants are raiding the food cupboard for anything sweet. At the same time, I've also discovered that I don't have any ant powder. :mad:
Click to expand...

Ant bait traps are far far better. Having had an infestation around my hot tub and having chucked everything at them, put a couple of bait traps near their main routes and they were gone within a few weeks.
 
Trying to get the rotten weatherboard off the front of the garage and replace it with some nice new wood. One of those jobs that you tell yourself will take about an hour and you can relax and to a bit of gaming - wrong!

Catalogue of disasters. The rotten sections tore away from the good wood all too easily. Unfortunately the good wood seems to be attached to the pins and frames by something I can't see (possibly Resin W?). The overhang of the felt not helping getting something in to try and jemmy off from the horizontal plane, while ramming a blade up the back to try and free from the vertical plane also. Basically it is coming off in little splinters. Also discovered I haven't got anything adequate in my tool kit to chisel it off - since rectified with yet another trip to B&Q. Added to which some of the frame is not exactly tip top, maybe even a bit of dry rot, but struck out trying to find wood hardener in B&Q. Well if/when I eventually get the old plank off, the new one can be bodged on, given several coats of woodstain and with a bit of luck next time it rots I'll have shuffled off to the great DIY project in the sky!

Now retired for the evening and will have another go tomorrow. Several attempts to get someone out to do this had drawn a blank, which is why I've had to end up doing it myself - now I know why!
 
I've been very, very slowly getting part of the front garden ready for seeding with grass (it was gravel).

I've also spent far too long putting a new spray gun on the hose, it seemed to be giving a very inconsistent spray like someone was varying the pressure, so I took it off, took the end fitting from the hose off, ran it to make sure the hose didn't have a partial blockage (and unrolled it fully), then put it back on, problem still there, then stripped the gun thinking something may have made it's way into the nozzle when I first ran it, nothing.
Eventually I thought to look at the hozelock fitting on the gun side of the hose (which i'd taken off at least three times), and tried a new one.

It turns out the old fitting was a "stoplock" one and it wasn't staying open fully when the spray gun was fitted :/
What should have been a 5 minute job ended up taking nearly an hour.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
Ant bait traps are far far better. Having had an infestation around my hot tub and having chucked everything at them, put a couple of bait traps near their main routes and they were gone within a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Yup

I tend to put them out as a preventative just inside our shed, and by the patio window as otherwise towards the end of summer we often get an infestation of flying ants where for some reason they've decided to take off via a route the involves making their way into the dining room. We might not see any other sign of them in the house all year, then have weeks of them flying around the dining room.
 
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